1 Chronicles 23:1-32

David Organizes the Levites

23:1 When David was old and approaching the end of his life, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.

23:2 David assembled all the leaders of Israel, along with the priests and the Levites. 23:3 The Levites who were thirty years old and up were counted; there were 38,000 men. 23:4 David said, “Of these, 24,000 are to direct the work of the Lord’s temple; 6,000 are to be officials and judges; 23:5 4,000 are to be gatekeepers; and 4,000 are to praise the Lord with the instruments I supplied for worship.” 23:6 David divided them into groups corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

23:7 The Gershonites included Ladan and Shimei.

23:8 The sons of Ladan:

Jehiel the oldest, Zetham, and Joel – three in all.

23:9 The sons of Shimei:

Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran – three in all.

These were the leaders of the family of Ladan.

23:10 The sons of Shimei:

Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were Shimei’s sons – four in all. 23:11 Jahath was the oldest and Zizah the second oldest. Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were considered one family with one responsibility.

23:12 The sons of Kohath:

Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel – four in all.

23:13 The sons of Amram:

Aaron and Moses.

Aaron and his descendants were chosen on a permanent basis to consecrate the most holy items, to offer sacrifices before the Lord, to serve him, and to praise his name. 23:14 The descendants of Moses the man of God were considered Levites.

23:15 The sons of Moses:

Gershom and Eliezer.

23:16 The son of Gershom:

Shebuel the oldest.

23:17 The son of Eliezer was Rehabiah, the oldest. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many descendants.

23:18 The son of Izhar:

Shelomith the oldest.

23:19 The sons of Hebron:

Jeriah the oldest, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

23:20 The sons of Uzziel:

Micah the oldest, and Isshiah the second.

23:21 The sons of Merari:

Mahli and Mushi.

The sons of Mahli:

Eleazar and Kish.

23:22 Eleazar died without having sons; he had only daughters. The sons of Kish, their cousins, married them.

23:23 The sons of Mushi:

Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth – three in all.

23:24 These were the descendants of Levi according to their families, that is, the leaders of families as counted and individually listed who carried out assigned tasks in the Lord’s temple and were twenty years old and up. 23:25 For David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given his people rest and has permanently settled in Jerusalem. 23:26 So the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the items used in its service.” 23:27 According to David’s final instructions, the Levites twenty years old and up were counted.

23:28 Their job was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service of the Lord’s temple. They were to take care of the courtyards, the rooms, ceremonial purification of all holy items, and other jobs related to the service of God’s temple. 23:29 They also took care of the bread that is displayed, the flour for offerings, the unleavened wafers, the round cakes, the mixing, and all the measuring. 23:30 They also stood in a designated place every morning and offered thanks and praise to the Lord. They also did this in the evening 23:31 and whenever burnt sacrifices were offered to the Lord on the Sabbath and at new moon festivals and assemblies. A designated number were to serve before the Lord regularly in accordance with regulations. 23:32 They were in charge of the meeting tent and the holy place, and helped their relatives, the descendants of Aaron, in the service of the Lord’s temple.

1 Chronicles 25:1--26:32

David Organizes the Musicians

25:1 David and the army officers selected some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to prophesy as they played stringed instruments and cymbals. The following men were assigned this responsibility:

25:2 From the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah. The sons of Asaph were supervised by Asaph, who prophesied under the king’s supervision.

25:3 From the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah – six in all, under supervision of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied as he played a harp, giving thanks and praise to the Lord.

25:4 From the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. 25:5 All these were the sons of Heman, the king’s prophet. God had promised him these sons in order to make him prestigious. God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.

25:6 All of these were under the supervision of their fathers; they were musicians in the Lord’s temple, playing cymbals and stringed instruments as they served in God’s temple. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the supervision of the king. 25:7 They and their relatives, all of them skilled and trained to make music to the Lord, numbered two hundred eighty-eight.

25:8 They cast lots to determine their responsibilities – oldest as well as youngest, teacher as well as student.

25:9 The first lot went to Asaph’s son Joseph and his relatives and sons – twelve in all,

the second to Gedaliah and his relatives and sons – twelve in all,

25:10 the third to Zaccur and his sons and relatives – twelve in all,

25:11 the fourth to Izri and his sons and relatives – twelve in all,

25:12 the fifth to Nethaniah and his sons and relatives – twelve in all,

25:13 the sixth to Bukkiah and his sons and relatives – twelve in all,

25:14 the seventh to Jesharelah and his sons and relatives – twelve in all,

25:15 the eighth to Jeshaiah and his sons and relatives – twelve in all,

25:16 the ninth to Mattaniah and his sons and relatives – twelve in all,

25:17 the tenth to Shimei and his sons and relatives – twelve in all,

25:18 the eleventh to Azarel and his sons and relatives – twelve in all,

25:19 the twelfth to Hashabiah and his sons and relatives – twelve in all,

25:20 the thirteenth to Shubael and his sons and relatives – twelve in all,

25:21 the fourteenth to Mattithiah and his sons and relatives – twelve in all,

25:22 the fifteenth to Jerimoth and his sons and relatives – twelve in all,

25:23 the sixteenth to Hananiah and his sons and relatives – twelve in all,

25:24 the seventeenth to Joshbekashah and his sons and relatives – twelve in all,

25:25 the eighteenth to Hanani and his sons and relatives – twelve in all,

25:26 the nineteenth to Mallothi and his sons and relatives – twelve in all,

25:27 the twentieth to Eliathah and his sons and relatives – twelve in all,

25:28 the twenty-first to Hothir and his sons and relatives – twelve in all,

25:29 the twenty-second to Giddalti and his sons and relatives – twelve in all,

25:30 the twenty-third to Mahazioth and his sons and relatives – twelve in all,

25:31 the twenty-fourth to Romamti-Ezer and his sons and relatives – twelve in all.

Divisions of Gatekeepers

26:1 The divisions of the gatekeepers:

From the Korahites: Meshelemiah, son of Kore, one of the sons of Asaph.

26:2 Meshelemiah’s sons:

The firstborn Zechariah, the second Jediael, the third Zebadiah, the fourth Jathniel, 26:3 the fifth Elam, the sixth Jehohanan, and the seventh Elihoenai.

26:4 Obed-Edom’s sons:

The firstborn Shemaiah, the second Jehozabad, the third Joah, the fourth Sakar, the fifth Nethanel, 26:5 the sixth Ammiel, the seventh Issachar, and the eighth Peullethai. (Indeed, God blessed Obed-Edom.)

26:6 His son Shemaiah also had sons, who were leaders of their families, for they were highly respected. 26:7 The sons of Shemaiah:

Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad. His relatives Elihu and Semakiah were also respected.

26:8 All these were the descendants of Obed-Edom. They and their sons and relatives were respected men, capable of doing their responsibilities. There were sixty-two of them related to Obed-Edom.

26:9 Meshelemiah had sons and relatives who were respected – eighteen in all.

26:10 Hosah, one of the descendants of Merari, had sons:

The firstborn Shimri (he was not actually the firstborn, but his father gave him that status), 26:11 the second Hilkiah, the third Tebaliah, and the fourth Zechariah. All of Hosah’s sons and relatives numbered thirteen.

26:12 These divisions of the gatekeepers, corresponding to their leaders, had assigned responsibilities, like their relatives, as they served in the Lord’s temple.

26:13 They cast lots, both young and old, according to their families, to determine which gate they would be responsible for. 26:14 The lot for the east gate went to Shelemiah. They then cast lots for his son Zechariah, a wise adviser, and the lot for the north gate went to him. 26:15 Obed-Edom was assigned the south gate, and his sons were assigned the storehouses. 26:16 Shuppim and Hosah were assigned the west gate, along with the Shalleketh gate on the upper road. One guard was adjacent to another. 26:17 Each day there were six Levites posted on the east, four on the north, and four on the south. At the storehouses they were posted in pairs. 26:18 At the court on the west there were four posted on the road and two at the court. 26:19 These were the divisions of the gatekeepers who were descendants of Korah and Merari.

Supervisors of the Storehouses

26:20 Their fellow Levites were in charge of the storehouses in God’s temple and the storehouses containing consecrated items. 26:21 The descendants of Ladan, who were descended from Gershon through Ladan and were leaders of the families of Ladan the Gershonite, included Jehieli 26:22 and the sons of Jehieli, Zetham and his brother Joel. They were in charge of the storehouses in the Lord’s temple.

26:23 As for the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites, and Uzzielites:

26:24 Shebuel son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was the supervisor of the storehouses. 26:25 His relatives through Eliezer included: Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zikri his son, and Shelomith his son. 26:26 Shelomith and his relatives were in charge of all the storehouses containing the consecrated items dedicated by King David, the family leaders who led units of a thousand and a hundred, and the army officers. 26:27 They had dedicated some of the plunder taken in battles to be used for repairs on the Lord’s temple. 26:28 They were also in charge of everything dedicated by Samuel the prophet, Saul son of Kish, Abner son of Ner, and Joab son of Zeruiah; Shelomith and his relatives were in charge of everything that had been dedicated.

26:29 As for the Izharites: Kenaniah and his sons were given responsibilities outside the temple as officers and judges over Israel.

26:30 As for the Hebronites: Hashabiah and his relatives, 1,700 respected men, were assigned responsibilities in Israel west of the Jordan; they did the Lord’s work and the king’s service.

26:31 As for the Hebronites: Jeriah was the leader of the Hebronites according to the genealogical records. In the fortieth year of David’s reign, they examined the records and discovered there were highly respected men in Jazer in Gilead. 26:32 Jeriah had 2,700 relatives who were respected family leaders. King David placed them in charge of the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh; they took care of all matters pertaining to God and the king.